An article on autoresponders probably sounds about as fascinating as one on estimated hoe-handle production for fiscal year 06-07.
Well, bear with me and I will tell you a twisted tale of virtual intrigue about autoresponders (and if that doesn’t work, I’ll see if I can get hold of those hoe-handle projections).
There are basically three ways in which you can send out regular emails to your people:
- From your own computer
- Via an autoresponder service installed on somebody else’s server.
- Via an autoresponder service that’s hosted on your own server.
Doing it all from your own computer is the most obvious way of doing a mailout. It’s also the most laborious, and once you’ve got a significant number of subscribers on your mailing list, it becomes virtually impossible to keep it all organised without some dedicated software to help.
There is some sophisticated software available that will turn your PC into a fully-fledged sequential autoresponder (such as Cory Rudl’s ‘Mailloop‘). Nowadays though this is not considered an ideal approach, largely because it means tying up your PC 24/7 as a dedicated mail server.
The more popular approach nowadays is to use an autoresponder service hosted on some remote server. There are any number of such services currently available on the Web, and many of them can be used free of charge.
In exchange for the free service though, you generally have to put up with a little add at the bottom of every email you send out. Add-free services can cost anywhere from between $5 and $35 per month. I have tried a number of these services over the years. Getresponse and Aweberwould be two of the most reputable and relatively economical.
One problem with some of the cheaper ‘remote server’ options is that you can end up with an autoresponder email address that bears no relation to your product or domain-name.
When you receive an email from me, the ‘from’ field should read ‘Rev. David B. Smith’ and the sender’s email address should read ‘dave@fatherdave.org’. If I were using ‘Joe’s Discount Autoresponder service‘, you might be receiving your emails from ‘dave@joesautoresponder.com’or something similar.
This is particularly significant if you’ve got a domain name that you’re working hard to brand into the minds of your subscribers. Not all of the online autoresponder services have this limitation, but it’s worth checking this out before signing up with anyone.
The other problem you’ve got with using an autoresponder on somebody else’s server is that you’re dependent upon their servers to be working all the time in order for you do be able to do your work.
Everybody’s server goes down at some time or another. It’s frustrating when your own site’s server goes down, but once you’ve integrated your site with an autoresponder service hosted on another server, you are dependent upon both servers being up and running all the time! This doubles any downtime problem, and was once a constant headache for me. Of course, with the more expensive autoresponder services, this is less likely to be problem, but the more costly the monthly autoresponder service, the cheaper it becomes to host your own!
Let me cut to the chase. If you have your own web space, consider installing your autoresponder scripts on your own server. I installed Add2it’s AutoRespond Pro and Add2it Mailman Pro some years ago now for only a couple of hundred dollars, and I have never looked back. I recommendAdd2it to everybody. Why?
- Because it is more flexible than any of the online autoresponders I’ve seen
- Because I no longer pay any monthly fees for an autoresponder service
- Because Frank Bauer, the author, is the most committed after-sales tech support person I have ever met.
Don’t underestimate the importance of the after-sales support service, particularly if you’re a non-programmer. Frank has a live chat facility that he uses to solve any technical issues you might have with his system. I used this a lot initially, while I got used to the system, and he never charged a cent for his time!
Anyway, let’s summarise the pro’s and cons of the different options again:
|
Running your autoresponder from your own computer (eg. Mailloop) |
|
| Pro’s | You don’t need to depend on anyone else to guard your data. |
| You never need to worry about downtime on any online server | |
| Con’s | Your desktop is tied up 24/7 as an autoresponder |
| If something happens to your PC, you’re in trouble | |
|
Running your autoresponder through an online service (eg. Aweber) |
|
| Pro’s | No need to install software or scripts |
| You can access your data from any internet terminal worldwide | |
| Con’s | Free versions tend to include ads for someone else’s products |
| Cheap versions can be quite inflexible with frequent downtime | |
| Expensive versions can prove very expensive over time | |
|
Hosting your own autoresponder (eg. Add2it) |
|
| Pro’s | No monthly fees |
| You can access your data from any internet terminal worldwide | |
| Con’s | The initial outlay can be relatively expensive |
| Either you need to know something about scripts, or you must be willing to pay someone to install it and troubleshoot problems. | |
As I say, I’ve never looked back since having the scripts installed on my own server, and I know very little about scripting. I leave it all to Frank (from Add2it) when I have a problem, but with Frank’s scripts, the problems have been few and far between for me.
Of course, none of this explains why I find my autoresponder service more exciting than the figures on hoe-handle production. The truth is that there are so many amazing things you can do with a good autoresponder:
- You can mail out an ecourse, spacing your emails a day or a week apart!
- When someone buys your product, you can automatically put them on a list!
- You can feed people from your mailing list to an autoresponder and back again!
- You can automatically send out information in response to specific enquiries!
- You can run a competition, automatically funnelling people who sign up on to different mailing lists, depending upon what prize they won!
In truth, a good autoresponder and a little imagination will go a long way towards making your online work successful. And if that doesn’t get you excited … well … I’m afraid I’m having trouble getting those figures on hoe-handle production together. Give me time 
Rev. David B. Smith
Parish priest, community worker,
martial arts master, pro boxer,
author, father of four.
www.FatherDave.org
